New restaurant may be just what Buckeye Lake needs

BUCKEYE LAKE, Ohio - Growing up on Buckeye Lake, Eric Mason took for granted the hours he spent in a boat or enjoying the resortlike feel of the community.

BUCKEYE LAKE, Ohio — Growing up on Buckeye Lake, Eric Mason took for granted the hours he spent in a boat or enjoying the resortlike feel of the community.

Now a successful businessman and restaurateur, Mason is returning to the lake with plans to develop a multilevel, waterfront restaurant and banquet facility to cater to both boaters and people who enjoy lakeside dining. The Waterfront Grill will be something of a crown jewel for the Mason family of restaurants and will provide the area with a much-needed addition of fine dining, he said.

“It’s going to be different from anything else on the lake,” Mason said. “We’re going to offer everything from pizza to steak and lobster.”

The business has the potential to be more than a good place to eat, however. Buckeye Lake Mayor Rick Baker said it could mark a turning point for the Licking County village, which, despite a collection of nice homes along the water’s edge, largely has fallen into disrepair since its heyday as a tourist destination in the 1950s and ’60s.

The village just completed a major water and sewer project that put residents on municipal water for the first time. With that complete, and with Mason’s restaurant expected to open early next spring, good things are on the horizon, Baker said.

“That’s what’s going to carry us forward,” he said of the restaurant. “I think that’s the catalyst that will help us develop the village into a quaint waterfront community.”

Mason said it was a natural decision to come back to the lake. After years of living away from the area, he came to realize how much he missed the atmosphere.

Mason, who also ships bagged mulch to 30 states with his Select Garden Products company, first dabbled in the restaurant industry by opening a Skyline Chili franchise in Heath in 2006.

The experience opened his eyes to the world of the food business. He said he was immediately charmed by the interaction with his customers and the community. When the chance came to buy P.B. Hiney’s in Newark the next year, he jumped on it, renaming it the Grill on 21st Street.

He soon added a catering business and then, last year, took over the deli at the Works science and technology museum in downtown Newark.

Mason also recently found himself with the opportunity to open yet another restaurant, in the former Natoma location in downtown Newark. The Natoma closed its doors after 88 years under the same family this spring, and Mason was asked about taking it over.

The Grill’s Chop House is going to be a traditional Chicago-style steakhouse with Newark prices, Mason said. He said it was an opportunity he could not pass up; it will expand his customer base and fill a vacancy in downtown dining.

“We open restaurants where there is a need,” Mason said. “The best part of being involved in the restaurant business is the connection with the community.”

Steve Ehret, a co-owner of H.L. Art Jewelers in Newark and a past president of the Downtown Newark Association, said having a restaurant open in the Natoma location was vital to businesses downtown. While he mourned the loss of the Natoma, Ehret said, Mason has the acumen to make his new restaurant a success.

“He’s a promoter,” Ehret said. “He’s going to make a big splash downtown, and we’re really excited to have him.”

Mason said he hopes to have a similar effect at Buckeye Lake.

He said the 11,000-square-foot restaurant will have dining on two floors, a three-season patio and a 200-person banquet hall on the top level.

The key to the restaurant is that every seat in the house has a view of the lake, Mason said.

Garry McAnally is the architect and developer behind the North Shore Landing addition that will house Mason’s restaurant. He said the Waterfront Grill will be the perfect addition to the mix of upscale homes and condos he is developing and should help renew interest in the village.

Mason hopes that it gives more people a reason to see what both the village and the lake have to offer. “Buckeye Lake is wonderful and we’re excited to be here,” he said.